<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>It's All About The Game (and how you play it) by Sdktrs12</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24521650">It's All About The Game (and how you play it)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sdktrs12/pseuds/Sdktrs12'>Sdktrs12</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Girls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Rules, Board Games, Drinking, F/M, Game Night, Mild Sexual Content</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:34:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24521650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sdktrs12/pseuds/Sdktrs12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The trio have Game Night + two unexpected visitors. </p>
<p>Inspired by a sarcasm prompt and <a href="https://magneticflower.tumblr.com/post/624516801709162496">a Tumblr game night post.</a></p>
<p>bathroombreaks said:</p>
<p>omg please do 3 for the sarcasm prompts, I can picture perfectly both rio and annie saying it lolol </p>
<p>Sarcasm Prompt #3 - <em>"Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?”</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beth Boland/Rio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>518</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It's All About The Game (and how you play it)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>Saturday night game night had been an ongoing Boland household family tradition ever since Kenny was old enough to participate in them.  </p>
<p>Clue, Uno, Life, Monopoly—they had, and played, it all. </p>
<p>So, the first Saturday that rolled around that <em> Dean </em> had the kids instead of Beth, she didn’t think anything of it.  </p>
<p>She went about her day, making sure to keep herself busy, and when dinner time rolled around, she automatically went about setting up for game night, like she would any other Saturday.  </p>
<p>It wasn’t until she had all the finger foods and snacks set out and she was digging around in the hallway closet for the stack of board game boxes, that the quietness of the house wrapped itself around her—deafening in her ears and suffocating in its heaviness.  </p>
<p>She’d immediately stopped what she was doing, sinking against the wall opposite the closet and slowly sliding to the floor, closing her eyes while she tried to regroup. </p>
<p><em>This was fine. </em> </p>
<p>She thought seriously about throwing everything out, including the games, for a total of five minutes, before she finally called Annie and Ruby.  </p>
<p>She had slid even further down onto the floor by the time the two other women arrived, and they both immediately got to work—Ruby settling herself down next to Beth, offering words of reassurance, while Annie grabbed the bourbon.  </p>
<p>“The first time is always the hardest.” Annie says, settling down on the floor, back against the wall and legs stretched out in front of her. “Dropping Ben off with Greg and Nancy doesn’t get any easier, but it’s never as hard as that first time.” She looks down at Beth, a small sympathetic smile on her face as she reaches over and squeezes her shoulder, and Beth nods silently.  </p>
<p>“And hey, if you need kids, we got kids you can have. Plenty of them.” Ruby adds and Annie hastily nods her head in agreement.  </p>
<p>Beth huffs out a small laugh and glances between the two of them before rolling over, rearranging herself so her head is resting in Annie’s lap and her legs are tangled up with Ruby’s.  </p>
<p>“I hate you guys.” She whispers, with a small smile.  </p>
<p>“Yeah, we hate you too.” Annie says and Ruby snorts out a laugh.  </p>
<p>They sit quietly for a few minutes, just drinking and lost in thought, and Beth thinks she could probably lay here all night, just like this.  </p>
<p>But she has food to clean up and games to put away, so she slowly disentangles herself from the other two and stands, a little unsteady, on her feet.  </p>
<p>“I’m going to pack this food up in some tupperware boxes, why don’t the two of you take it home. I know how much Sara likes those jalapeno poppers.” Beth calls over her shoulder, already on her way to the kitchen.  </p>
<p>“Whoa, wait, hold up!” Annie protests from behind her, scrambling up to her feet and Beth turns just in time to see some of the liquid of her glass slosh out over the rim, sliding over her hand and dripping down onto the hardwood floors.  </p>
<p>Annie keeps going, switching the glass to her other hand and licking the alcohol off her skin and Beth grimaces. “<em>Annie</em>.” </p>
<p>“I’ll get it, I’ll get it.” Annie reassures her, stepping around Beth to slide her glass onto the kitchen island counter. She grabs some paper towels and quickly wets them before heading back over to the mess on the floor. “Look, there’s no need to pack all this stuff up, <em> we </em> can totally still do game night.” </p>
<p>“What?” Beth’s eyebrows snap together as she moves around the kitchen, pulling containers down.  </p>
<p>“I mean, we’re here, everything is ready, why not?” Annie continues, kneeling down to wipe at the drops of liquid haphazardly and Beth makes a mental note to go back over and re-clean her sister's mess. Annie walks over to the corner of the kitchen and throws the paper towels away and then grabs her drink again. </p>
<p>“Annie, there’s enough food here to feed a small army.” Beth points out, gesturing out toward the overflowing coffee table, and the food still on the kitchen island.  </p>
<p>“Your point?” Annie plucks a jalapeno popper off one of the trays and pops it into her mouth, washing it down with the bourbon, and Beth wrinkles her nose in disgust.  </p>
<p>Beth looks to Ruby, who shrugs and sips on her drink.  </p>
<p>“I mean, don’t you guys have...other plans for tonight?” Beth asks. ‘<em>Family plans</em>’ goes unspoken, but the way the two women exchange glances, she knows they hear it.  </p>
<p>“No, Ben wanted to stay an extra night to help with Dakota. So, I’m plan free!”  </p>
<p>“And Stan is taking the kids to see a movie I have <em> no </em>interest in sitting two hours through so, ya know...”  </p>
<p>And Beth knows they’re lies...or <em>at least </em> half truths.  </p>
<p>But she can’t stand the thought of going back to the quietness of this house, and they haven’t had a girls only game night in...well it’s been awhile.   </p>
<p>“Look, I know you’re still bitter about losing that last monopoly game we played—” Annie starts, eyebrows raised as she purses her lips and Beth lets out a little gasp of outrage as Ruby sucks in a sharp breath.  </p>
<p>“I am <em> not </em> bitter, because I did <em> not </em> lose—” </p>
<p>“Oh, you <em> so </em>lost—”  </p>
<p>“It’s not losing if the other person <em> cheats</em>—” Beth whips back around to Ruby, waving her arms out as she sputters and Ruby throws her hands up defensively. “I am <em> not </em> getting involved in this.” </p>
<p>“<em>You know what—” </em>Beth starts, turning her glare to Annie.  </p>
<p>“No, tell me.” Annie says, barely contained glee in her voice and Beth grabs the dish towel from the sink and flings it at her. Annie laughs as she catches it and Beth shakes her head and lets out her own exasperated laugh.  </p>
<p>“Alright, well—fine. But let me at least reheat some of this stuff.” Beth says as she moves back into the living room, grabbing plates of food off the coffee table to take back into the kitchen. Annie throws her hands up in victory, her loud “Yes!” echoing off the walls.  </p>
<p>“<em>No cheating</em>!” Beth calls out to Annie’s retreating form, as she heads back to the hallway closet to get the rest of the games out.  </p>
<p>Annie raises her hand up to her shoulder without looking back, middle finger fully extended, and Beth rolls her eyes. “Very mature.”  </p>
<p>“I can’t believe you are <em> still </em>fighting over that damn monopoly game.” Ruby says, sliding onto a stool at the island.  </p>
<p>“Well, <em> I </em>can’t believe you just stood by while she accused me of being bitter when she cheated.” Beth teases, and Ruby snorts out a laugh as she takes another drink from her glass. “Yeah, well, you two are a mess.”  </p>
<p>Annie reappears then, balancing too many boxes in her hands, which she promptly dumps onto the couch in a giant heap. “Hey, you guys have Taboo, don’t you? I could swear you did, but I couldn’t find it in there.”  </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Dean hid it after the last time you were here.” Beth answers with a snort and Annie turns to glare at her. “What? <em> Why</em>?” She demands, hands on hips.  </p>
<p>“Uh, because you suck at charades Annie. It’s a proven fact.” Ruby interjects, and Beth points over at her and nods in agreement as she takes a drink from Annie’s glass.  </p>
<p>“You know, you two are kind of assholes.”  </p>
<p>--- </p>
<p>It shouldn’t surprise her, really, that he would pick tonight of all nights to pop in at her house. Things were going too well, she was feeling too good—she should’ve known better.  </p>
<p>They’re three drinks in, sprawled out across the living room floor, giggling over Annie’s car full of kids while they play Life, when Beth realizes they’re running low on alcohol. They’re close to finishing off what she had leftover on the bar cart and she rolls over onto her back from her stomach, ready to push herself up to go in the kitchen and restock but... </p>
<p>She’s pretty sure the only bottle she has left in the kitchen is... </p>
<p>The one Rio had left her. In the storage unit. Tucked far back in the corner cupboard—hidden behind a box of triscuits and fig newtons she knows the kids (or Dean) will never touch.  </p>
<p>“Shit.” Beth says quietly, squinting up at the ceiling.  </p>
<p>“What? Oh god, are you drunk already?” Annie asks, voice full of exasperation, and Beth feels her sister's foot nudge her shoulder a second later. Beth reaches out blindly and bats her away. “<em>Stop</em>. I’m just...I was going to go get a refill.”  </p>
<p>“And?” Ruby says and Beth tilts her head up and back so she can see her friend, albeit upside down.  </p>
<p>“It’s just...all the way in the kitchen.” Beth breathes out, unable, <em> unwilling</em>, to say <em> it </em>out loud.  </p>
<p>“What’s wrong mama, had a lil too much?”  </p>
<p>Beth lets out a little shriek as her chin drops and she sits up quickly, <em> too </em>quickly, the world spinning and her stomach twists a little, but she thinks it's less from the alcohol and more from Rio, who is leaning against the built in shelving unit, lips twisted into a smirk, eyes dancing with amusement.  </p>
<p><em> Of course </em>he had snuck in like a damn ninja.  </p>
<p>Beth vaguely registers Mick just behind him, but Beth’s eyes are locked on Rio’s.  </p>
<p>He’s wearing his hoodie, in that stupid way only he seems to be able to pull off, and his hands are shoved in his pockets, and everything about him <em> seems </em>relaxed, but Beth knows better.  </p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” She asks cautiously, very much aware of the fact that he’s looming over her—but she’s pretty sure if she moves to stand, she might fall over, so decides the better option is to stay put.  </p>
<p>Rio shifts slightly on his feet and Beth’s eyes roam over him, his whole body fluid with the movement. “What, I don’t get an invite to game night?” He asks, pointedly ignoring her question.  </p>
<p>“No.” The word slips past her lips before she really processes what she’s saying and she slaps her hand over her mouth as a nervous giggle spills out.  </p>
<p>She hears Ruby suck in a breath behind her but Rio just lets out a low chuckle, obviously taken with her slightly unhinged state.  </p>
<p>“So, whatchu playin’?” He asks, eyes darting over to the board game and then back to Beth.  </p>
<p>“We were just finishing up Life, but like, crime style edition.” Annie throws out and Beth turns her head to glare at her.  </p>
<p>“Crime style edition huh?” Rio looks back at Mick who just shakes his head, but she can tell they’re both highly amused.  </p>
<p>Were they this bored on a Saturday night that they had to crash their game night for entertainment?  </p>
<p>“Yeah, so when you start, you either pick criming right off the bat <em> or </em> go to crime college.” Annie continues, her nervousness apparent in her random flailing hand gestures and the fact that she can't seem to shut the hell up.    </p>
<p>“Crime college...” Rio’s eyebrows shoot up as he stares at Annie, what can only be described as utter disbelief on his face. Beth can feel another giggle trying to claw its way up her throat and she presses her lips tightly together.  </p>
<p>And Beth wants to tell him to quit repeating everything Annie says, to quit encouraging her, but it’s too late, Annie’s already going off on the intricacies of starting straight off hustling dime bags and working your way up to funny money or going to crime college first and coming out the other side as a crime boss.  </p>
<p>Like she’s not talking to the literal embodiment of just that.  </p>
<p>“<em>Annie </em> ...” Beth starts, warning in her tone, when Annie decides to take a break to actually breathe in-between her ramblings and Annie’s eyes go wide as she throws her hands up. “He <em> asked</em>.” </p>
<p>“Yeah, my bad. Forgot who I was talkin’ to for a minute.” Rio says, and Mick huffs out a laugh next to him. Rio turns to him and they exchange a look before Mick steps further into the living room and Rio turns his attention back to Beth, who tries not to fidget under his gaze. </p>
<p>“C’mon mama, lemme help you with that refill, yeah?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, just turns around and walks off toward the kitchen and Beth’s eyes dart over to Mick and then to the girls as she gnaws at her bottom lip.  </p>
<p>Annie and Ruby are just staring at her, wild eyed, and she briefly entertains the idea of ignoring him, but she can practically feel Mick’s glower burning into the back of her head, so she pushes herself slowly and unsteadily up onto her feet.  </p>
<p>“I’ll be right back.” Beth says, forcing a fake breeziness to her words. “No cheating during my turn. I’m winning.”  </p>
<p>“You just can’t let that shit go, can you?” Annie calls out to her back and Beth laughs, the sound dying on her lips as Rio comes into view.  </p>
<p>His back is to her and he’s bent over, digging through the bottom corner cupboard, and Beth’s mouth drops open when he turns around with the bourbon bottle in hand and a look of way too much smug satisfaction on his face.  </p>
<p>“What...how...you can’t just—” Beth sputters, hands gesturing out at the bottle and then the cupboard and Rio grins as he sets the bottle down and slides it across the island countertop toward her. He turns back around to dig some tumblers out of one of the upper cabinets and Beth crosses her arms and glares at the back of his head.  </p>
<p>He is way too comfortable in her kitchen.  </p>
<p>How the hell did he even know where everything was? </p>
<p>She’d even moved things around a few times and yet he still somehow had everything mapped out.  </p>
<p>“So,” Rio nudges one of the glasses across the island toward her, “who’s cheating?” </p>
<p>Beth just stares at him for a moment, hoping if maybe she focuses hard enough, she can make him magically disappear.  </p>
<p>He cocks an eyebrow at her, looking pointedly at the bottle of bourbon between them and Beth huffs out an exasperated sigh before reaching out and grabbing the bottle, pouring herself a generous amount and then leaning over slightly and adding some to his glass as well.  </p>
<p>She wonders if he knows this is the bottle... </p>
<p>How ironic she’d been saving it for god knows what, and now she’s drinking it with <em> him</em>.  </p>
<p>“There was a monopoly debacle awhile back.” She finally explains, bringing the glass up to her lips and taking a generous drink.  </p>
<p>He mirrors her actions, but she still catches the smile he inadvertently hides as he presses his lips to the rim of his glass.  </p>
<p>Beth wants to repeat her question from earlier, demand to know what he’s doing here, tell him he needs to leave, but... </p>
<p>Even if they are on semi-decent terms now and he’s past the point of wanting to kill her and she’s past the point of trying to actively wrestle control from him—he’ll still never give an inch unless he wants to.  </p>
<p>“So, what’d you pick out there—straight into crime or college?”  </p>
<p>Beth scoffs at his question, the way he looks at her when he asks, like he already knows the answer.  </p>
<p>“Straight in. Teachers are overrated.” She answers, a little smug in her slight dig at him and the corner of his mouth pulls up even though he’s trying hard to keep his features smooth.  </p>
<p>“Right, right. You always did like to run head first into shit. Not one to think things through.”  </p>
<p>And Beth flinches at him slinging their past back in her face, but she quickly schools her features, bringing her glass back up to her lips to take another long pull.  </p>
<p>“Is there a reason you’re here?” And she <em> hates </em> herself for giving in and asking, but he’s having too much fun pushing her buttons and she’s tired of entertaining it.  </p>
<p>“Drop changed for next week.” He replies, picking up his glass and moving around the island, sidling up next to her and Beth almost steps back, away from him, but she can feel that old push/pull between them in the pit of her stomach and...it’s kind of comforting.  </p>
<p>“And that’s something you couldn’t have told me over text?” She asks, angling her body more toward him without even thinking.  </p>
<p>“Nah.” He shakes his head as he says it, jutting his lower lip out, almost into a pout, as he does and Beth’s eyes flick down to his mouth and she’s suddenly struck with the memory of how it felt to have it caught between her teeth and she has to quickly shake herself out of those thoughts.</p>
<p>He doesn’t look like he’s going to elaborate any further on the drop or the reason behind the change and Beth’s pretty sure he won’t even if she asks, because he’s just <em> annoying </em> like that. </p>
<p>“Okay, well thanks for letting me know...” She trails off, hoping he’ll get the hint as she turns around, leaning back against the kitchen island and peeking around the corner into the living room, trying to distract herself from how infuriating he can be. </p>
<p>She can see Mick settled on the couch next to Annie, and it looks like he’s...playing Life? </p>
<p>“What the hell?” Beth mutters, eyes narrowing as she watches Annie take her turn. She opens her mouth to say something but then Rio’s <em>leaning over</em> <em>her</em> to get a better look, so close she can feel his breath on her skin and she tries to stay very still, but the alcohol she’s already consumed has loosened her body considerably, causing her to sway a bit.  </p>
<p>“So...kids gone then?”  </p>
<p>Beth is a little startled at the sudden and rather intrusive question and she resists the strong urge to look at him, focusing instead on the little bit of the gameboard that she can see from this angle.     </p>
<p>Against her better judgment, she answers silently with a slow nod, still focusing on the board. She blames the alcohol.  </p>
<p>“First time?” His voice is softer this time, gentler, and it throws Beth off enough that she finds herself nodding once again, giving him a mile when she’d normally only give an inch and she can tell he’s just as surprised as she is. She sneaks a glance at him out of the corner of her eye and he’s nodding now as well, in...sympathy? Solidarity? Her mind briefly goes to Marcus, and she tilts her head to the side to ask him...shit, she doesn’t even know what because she’s suddenly distracted by his eyelashes—she swears she could probably count every single individual one. “You have really nice eyelashes.”  </p>
<p>And it’s probably the dumbest thing she could say in this very moment, but it’s what comes out of her mouth and she can’t take it back now so she just leans into it, into <em> him, </em>and she feels it when he huffs out a laugh, watches as he cocks his head to the side, as his eyes drop down to her mouth. “Oh yeah?”  </p>
<p>“Yeah. It’s really annoying.” She thinks to add, just because <em> it is, </em> and that earns her a smile. And it’s the kind of smile that she <em> loves. </em>The one that slowly turns into a full blown grin—that has his perfect teeth on display and has the corner of his eyes crinkling up. The kind that she hasn’t really seen since before... </p>
<p>Well, since <em> before. </em>  </p>
<p>And then she realizes she’s smiling back, like a fucking idiot, and she tries to stop—tries to press her lips together, to temper her emotions, because <em> this is not what they do</em>... </p>
<p>“What the hell are you two doing in there?”  </p>
<p>Annie’s voice breaks through Beth’s hazy fog and suddenly everything comes back into sharp focus and she jerks away from Rio. It’s a little too fast because she has to throw her hand out to steady herself against the island, but once she does, she steps away from him and clears her throat, running her hands nervously over the front of her jeans. “What are <em> you </em>doing?” Beth throws Annie’s question back at her, looking pointedly at the board game as she moves closer into view and Annie holds her hands up, all faux innocence. “Nothing, man. You know, you lose one game of monopoly, and all of a sudden, everyone's out to get you.”  </p>
<p>Beth hears Ruby let out a groan and Beth stomps back over to the living room, hands on hips as she comes to an abrupt stop across the threshold. “Annie, <em> I swear to god</em>—” </p>
<p>“Here we go again.” Ruby mutters into her glass and Mick’s eyes are bouncing between the two sisters, facial expression completely passive. Beth’s been around Rio long enough to know that doesn’t really mean anything.  </p>
<p>He must really get a kick out of the three of them.    </p>
<p>Beth and Annie start talking over each other as they argue about who <em> really </em> won that monopoly game, and at some point Rio steps up beside Beth and silently hands her her drink, which she takes without even thinking, before going right back to arguing, and he just resumes his position from earlier—leaning against the wall and watching on in silent amusement.  </p>
<p>“Alright, so let’s rematch right now.” Annie challenges, already shoving Life out of the way and digging around for the monopoly box.  </p>
<p>“Oh, please, the only reason you want to do this now, is because you were about to lose at Life and I caught you before you could cheat your way out of it.” Beth points out and Annie scoffs, but doesn’t deny it.  </p>
<p>“C’mon, let’s do this. Ruby can even be banker so nothing <em> shady </em> happens.” Annie uses air quotes on the word shady and Beth’s about to tell her that’s not how you use those, but then she’s adding, rather snidely, “Or are you too scared to lose? <em> Again</em>.”  </p>
<p>“Okay, yeah fine, let’s do this.” Beth says, pushing the sleeves of her sweater up and she <em> swears </em> she sees Mick’s mouth twitch up into half of a smile before he stops it.  </p>
<p>“I do not want to be involved in any of this.” Ruby points out, but both women ignore her as Annie finally digs the monopoly game out of the pile and slaps it down onto the coffee table.  </p>
<p>“No Boland Family play, we do Ternary rules.” Annie proclaims, flipping the lid off the box dramatically and both Beth and Ruby groan.  </p>
<p>“Annie, no.” Beth protests, eyes darting over to Rio as she suddenly remembers <em> he’s still there </em> for some reason. “And I really don’t think we need an audience for this.” She snaps, hoping he’ll take the hint and finally leave.  </p>
<p>“Oh, I’m definitely stayin’ for this.” Rio announces, nodding his head as he looks over to Mick, who nods along with him, and Beth knows for sure she sees a damn smile this time.  </p>
<p>“You stay, you play.” Annie says, unperturbed as she picks up her beer bottle and finishes it off.  </p>
<p>Rio shrugs and steps further into the living room, settling in on the couch and Beth tries not to let every single one of the twenty different emotions she’s feeling play out across her face as she screams internally.  </p>
<p>There’s a slight shuffle as everyone settles into their respective spots—Rio stays on the couch, but Mick gets up and grabs a chair from the dining room to set at the side of the table. Annie and Ruby settle in on the floor, which leaves Beth to reluctantly take the remaining spot on the couch.  </p>
<p>Next to Rio.   </p>
<p>She silently curses everyone in the room.  </p>
<p>Annie wordlessly passes the money over to Ruby, who reluctantly takes it and starts doling out the fake cash.  </p>
<p>“Okay!” Annie claps her hands, then rubs them together, a little too enthusiastic about this game. “Ternary rules. First, everyone starts off with two thousand dollars. We like to add a little padding to our initial pay out. Two, free parking gets five hundred dollars. You land on free parking, you get that five hundred dollars. However, any one of the other players can steal that five hundred from you by picking a number and rolling the dice—they roll the number, they get the money. <em> However,” </em> Annie holds her finger up, putting even more emphasis on this ‘however’ and Beth can’t help but laugh, glancing over at Rio, who looks just as confused as he is amused. “That person can then turn around and roll the dice on <em> you </em>and send your ass to jail for stealing.”  </p>
<p>“You seriously play this way?” Rio asks, the awe in his voice sending Beth into another fit of giggles. “It doesn't make any sense.”   </p>
<p>“<em>Life </em> doesn’t make any sense.” Annie counters and Rio just stares at her like she’s insane.</p>
<p>“Oh, just you wait. There’s more.” Ruby says, rolling her eyes as she sorts out money and game pieces. “<em>So </em> much more.”  </p>
<p>“<em>Speaking of jail</em>,” Annie continues, glaring at Ruby, “If you end up in jail and you do not have a get out of jail free card or some other form of bribery for the judge, you immediately forfeit your remaining assets and lose the game.”  </p>
<p>“So, who’s judge?” Mick asks and Annie turns and looks him over slowly, like she’s trying to decide something, giving a sharp nod when her decision is finally met.  </p>
<p>“It’s your lucky day, that job falls to you.” Annie says enthusiastically, like she’s bestowing a gift upon him, and Mick actually looks oddly pleased at the opportunity.   </p>
<p>“Every time, you pass Go, you collect two hundred dollars. You are allowed to smuggle this salary away in an offshore bank account,” Annie gestures to Ruby, who looks exasperated by the prospect already, “and no other player or the bank is allowed to touch it.”  </p>
<p>“You tellin’ me you never hustled before stealin’ my money?” Rio asks, leaning in close as Annie continues to explain the rules. Beth lets out a quiet laugh as she shrugs, taking a drink from her glass, finishing it off. Rio plucks it neatly out of her hand and takes it over to the bar cart where the new bottle of bourbon sits. He tops her off and brings it back, handing it off as he settles back down on the couch, much closer than he was before he got up.  </p>
<p>Annie touches base on the rest of the rules (“You can earn money back by taking a shot or...taking off and ”selling” an article of clothing.” Rio looks entirely too pleased at that last notion as his hot gaze slowly rakes over Beth’s body.  </p>
<p>“Every time lucky number seven is rolled, you have the opportunity to steal property from any other player you wish.” “That’s fucked.” Mick observes with a laugh. “Yes, yes it is.” Annie shoots back with a grin.  </p>
<p>“Property is overseen by the mob, so if you land on a property and you don’t have the money to pay up, you’re sleeping with the fishes and out of the game.” Ruby looks absolutely horrified at how flippant Annie is talking about this subject in front of their very own crime boss and his right hand man.  </p>
<p>Mick lets out a low whistle as his eyebrows shoot up and Rio turns to Beth. “Damn, ma, you make these rules up?”  </p>
<p>Beth flushes as she thinks about her, Annie, and Ruby’s girls' night-ins, and the ridiculous rules they would apply to games over one too many drinks. “It was a group effort.”  </p>
<p>“Yeah, I think your sister’s been watchin’ one too many crime documentaries.” </p>
<p>“And last but not least, you roll doubles, all assets get shifted to the left.” Mick bulks at that, and Annie is practically vibrating with glee at how horrified both men look at the very idea of playing this insane game. “How you even cheat at this game when the whole fuckin’ thing is rigged?” Rio asks, incredulous and Beth can’t help but laugh. “Trust me, Annie can find a way to cheat at anything.”). </p>
<p>It should be a giant red warning flag that an argument breaks out before they even start the game—over who gets which playing piece.  </p>
<p>Mick immediately snatches up the battleship, before anyone else can even blink. Ruby picks the top hat and Beth's never been particular about which piece she uses, so she grabs randomly, ending up with the shoe.  </p>
<p>But<em> Annie </em> and <em> Rio </em>are having a showdown over the car.  </p>
<p>Normally Beth would be annoyed by this kind of delay, is truly on par with how her <em> children </em> act when they don’t get what they want, but— </p>
<p>Watching Annie throw down with Rio over a monopoly game piece is something Beth never imagined she’d experience, so she’s going to enjoy this for a little bit.  </p>
<p>And any leftover intimidation Annie still feels from Rio quickly flies out the window, replaced by booze and outrage over the apparent nerve he has to try and challenge her on this.  </p>
<p>“—and then you have the <em> audacity </em> to come into <em> my house</em>—”  </p>
<p>“It’s my house, Annie.” Beth interjects, rolling her eyes as her fingers come up to pinch the bridge of her nose.  </p>
<p>“And this is not the Godfather, just give the man the car so we can play.” Ruby adds, impatiently shuffling through the Chance cards. Beth can tell she’s still nervous in the presence of their uninvited guests, but she’s seemed to calm considerably since they first showed up.  </p>
<p>“I cannot believe you’re taking his side.” Annie fumes and Ruby tosses the cards down to lean forward, into Annie’s space. “I’m not taking anyone's side, but unless <em> you </em>want to be sleeping with the fishes, I suggest you give the scary gang leader the damn car.” Ruby hisses and Annie turns to look at Rio, who raises an eyebrow and smirks, looking entirely too smug at Ruby’s words and Annie’s look of defeat as she lets out an annoyed sigh and tosses the car onto the board.  </p>
<p>“Everyone knows the dog is superior anyway.” She mutters underneath her breath, adding a few colorful expletives, as she snatches the dog up and sets it down on the Go spot. </p>
<p>“Fuck yeah, scottie’s are the shit, used to have one when I was a kid.” Mick enthusiastically interrupts, inadvertently breaking up some of the tension.    </p>
<p>But Rio’s opening his mouth and Beth is sure whatever smart comment he has to say will probably have World War 3 breaking out in her living room, so without even thinking, she reaches out and places her hand on his thigh, just above his knee, and gives it a light squeeze.  </p>
<p>And they both freeze as they silently register what’s just happened, staring down at where her hand rests, and thank god Ruby and Annie are now distracted by Mick and his childhood dog story, because no one else seems to notice.  </p>
<p>She doesn’t move her hand right away, but Rio also doesn’t move his leg away either, and Beth feels like she’s <em> stuck. </em>  </p>
<p>And then she notices Annie start to turn her head and she quickly snatches her hand back like she’s been burned.  </p>
<p>“Alright, who’s ready to lose?”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>------ </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Beth is pretty sure she’s drunk.  </p>
<p>Or rather, <em> very </em> pleasantly <em> buzzed</em>. </p>
<p>However, she takes great comfort in the knowledge that everyone else seems to be in varying degrees of inebriation as well.  </p>
<p>The Ternary shot rule has been used a number of times between the lot of them, as well as the “selling” of clothing rule—mostly by Mick, who seems surprisingly chill with stripping his clothes off, but he’s also wearing a ridiculous amount of layers, so he’s still in an undershirt by the time he’s made himself flush with cash.  </p>
<p>Somehow, everyone is still in the game, despite Annie’s best efforts.  </p>
<p>Beth thought <em> she </em> was the one who always brought out the worst in Rio, but it turns out monopoly mixed with Annie and sprinkled with some booze was the real recipe for his true nightmare self. </p>
<p>She is absolutely delighted at this discovery.  </p>
<p>(The first seven Rio rolls, he immediately takes Annie’s first property, and it’s all out war from then on.  </p>
<p>Annie rolls to steal the money from free parking every time Rio happens to land on it (and <em> only </em> when he lands on it), and she succeeds on the third try. He turns right back around and rolls to send her off to jail, landing it on his first try. Even Beth eyes him suspiciously at that, but he adamantly denies any cheating. </p>
<p>And so it goes, with Rio snatching up property whenever he can, and Annie desperately trying to land him in jail and subsequently bankrupt him or scarifying him to the mob for property rent, neither of which have been working in her favor.)</p>
<p>Beth pulls her legs up underneath her as she settles back against the couch cushions, watching Ruby argue with Annie about how much money she’s supposed to charge poor Mick, who has been unfortunate enough to land on one of her properties. Again. </p>
<p>“You can’t change the amount you charge every time someone lands on your property, Annie.”  </p>
<p>“Oh, and why not? I’m the mob, I <em> should </em>be able to do whatever the hell I want.” </p>
<p>Rio leans forward beside her, obvious in his impatience to take his turn and he grabs the dice before the two can finish talking, rolling despite Annie’s protests.  </p>
<p>He rolls a seven.  </p>
<p>A sharkish smile spreads across his face as he points at the property Mick’s battleship is on. “I’ll make this easy for you—don’t gotta worry about an amount cause that’s mine now.”  </p>
<p>Annie’s eyes go wide as her mouth drops open and she lets out an affronted squawk, ready to argue, but Ruby’s already reaching over to grab the property from Annie’s pile, flipping it over to Rio with an exasperated “<em>Thank you</em>.” that has Beth laughing into her drink.  </p>
<p>“She’s going to get you back for that.” Beth murmurs as Rio moves his car across the board.  </p>
<p>“Oh ho ho, I am <em> for sure </em> getting you back for that.” Annie confirms, making a big production out of reorganizing her money and properties, hissing out a “<em>Traitor</em>.” Ruby’s way.   </p>
<p>“This is why we can’t have nice things.” Beth points out, leaning forward to set her drink down and grab the dice, tipping a little too far in her drunken state, and Rio’s hand wraps around her arm to steady her.  </p>
<p>She looks back at him, giving him a small smile of thanks and his hand slides off, fingers skimming down her side as he lets go.  </p>
<p>She tries to ignore the shiver that rakes through her body at his touch, instead focusing on tossing the dice down onto the board.  </p>
<p>It lands on doubles and utter chaos descends around her. Annie lets out a long string of expletives, immediately accusing Beth of cheating, Mick abandons his usual stoic demeanor to pump his fists in the air in triumph, Ruby pushes all the banking stuff in front of her aside, gets up and walks away, and Rio... </p>
<p>Well, Beth can’t help but stare as Rio tilts his head back and <em> laughs, </em>tattoo on full display, and it reminds her so much of the only other time she’s ever seen him do that—out on her picnic table, in the sunlight, and... </p>
<p>It makes her heart<em> ache</em>.   </p>
<p>“You two are working together, aren’t you?” Annie accuses, pulling Beth’s attention back to her and Beth rolls her eyes. “Yes, Annie, we have totally formed an alliance against you.”  </p>
<p>“Oh my <em> god </em> Beth, blood’s thicker than water...or in this case, <em> dick—” </em>Annie pauses as she eyes Rio, “I mean, unless—” Beth’s loud gasp cuts Annie off, and she picks up the oversized throw pillow nearest to her and flings it over the table at Annie, smacking her right in the face.  </p>
<p>Beth can hear Ruby’s cackle from the other room and she turns her head to glare, even though she can’t see her.  </p>
<p>“At least when <em> I </em>cheat—” Annie starts, flinging the pillow back at Beth, who catches it just in time and promptly drops it onto her lap.  </p>
<p>“I cannot<em> believe </em>you’re not even bothering to deny it anymore!” Beth says, leaning over too far again in her outrage and she feels Rio’s hand slip under the pillow in her lap to grip her thigh, anchoring her in place.  </p>
<p>“Oh, I’m sorry, do I get bonus points if I act like I care?” Annie snorts, picking up her drink and it’s halfway to her mouth before she realizes it's empty. “Great, now I need a refill.” She says it like it's somehow <em> Beth’s </em> fault and Beth throws her hands up in the air in frustration.  </p>
<p>Mick stands and holds his hand out, a silent peace offering and Annie hesitates for half a second before handing her glass over. He makes his way over to the kitchen to refill her drink, Annie calling out “You may have won the battle, but I’m going to win the war!” to his retreating back. She hastily tacks on a small “thank you” at the end and Beth settles back against the couch cushions once more, a tiny smile playing at her lips.  </p>
<p>She’s having <em> fun</em>.  </p>
<p>She didn’t think that was going to be possible at the start of this night, when she’d sunk to the floor defeatedly after realizing she had prepared game night for an empty house.  </p>
<p>“Ruby, c’mon it’s your turn!” Annie calls out, looking in the direction of the kitchen and Beth hears Ruby’s voice float out through the wall, saying something about snacks and Beth realizes that Rio’s been quiet for awhile now.   </p>
<p>She hasn’t looked at him since Annie’s comment about...well, since Annie’s <em> comment</em>.  </p>
<p>And she’s just had <em> that </em> realization when <em> another </em>realization hits her out of nowhere.  </p>
<p>His hand is still on her thigh.  </p>
<p>Her eyes dart down to the pillow still dropped haphazardly in her lap and then over to Annie, who is still looking toward the kitchen.  </p>
<p>She realizes with the angle and how ridiculously large and fluffy the pillow is, no one’s noticed his hand because no one can really <em> see </em> anything and Beth’s heart skips a beat as she quickly looks Rio’s way.  </p>
<p>He’s got his phone out, scrolling through messages or emails or god knows what and Beth looks away, trying to keep her breathing normal as every cell and nerve ending in her body fixates on the feel of his large hand, spread out and heavy across her thigh.  </p>
<p>She suddenly has a flashback to the bar bathroom and her breath catches in her throat as she feels herself flush further.  </p>
<p><em> Jesus Christ</em>...   </p>
<p>“Oh my <em> god</em>, what is taking so long with my drink? And the snacks!” Annie whines, brow furrowed in annoyance as she pushes herself up off the floor. “I’ll be right back. No cheating! And no killing each other or whatever it is you guys are doing this week.” Annie waves her hand out dismissively as she stumbles out of the room and Beth feels like her heart is going to beat right out of her chest.  </p>
<p>She thinks about getting up, about topping off her own drink or excusing herself to the bathroom or joining the others in the kitchen—but she doesn’t do any of those things because she can’t seem to get her body to cooperate with her mind, and her mind is yielding.  </p>
<p>She can’t remember the last time she was alone in a room with him and he was <em> touching </em>her. </p>
<p><em> Actually </em>touching her, not some calculated move to try to get underneath her skin.  </p>
<p>Was it as far back as their last time in her bedroom?  </p>
<p>Beth’s eyes flick over to the hallway that leads back to her room and her face feels like it's on fire.  </p>
<p>Was he thinking about it too?  </p>
<p>Beth feels like she may just go insane with her thoughts, so she leans forward to grab her drink, hoping maybe more alcohol will make things nice and muddled enough for her to ignore, and Rio’s hand shifts further up her thigh with the movement.  </p>
<p>Beth feels her whole body tense up as she knocks back the rest of her drink.  </p>
<p>What the hell was she supposed to do here?  </p>
<p>She lets out a tiny gasp as she feels Rio’s thumb start to move against the rough fabric of her jeans, short quick strokes back and forth before he settles into a tiny circular pattern that is actually pretty soothing and has her slowly relaxing back into the cushions as her eyes flutter closed.  </p>
<p>Okay, so this wasn’t so bad.  </p>
<p>She almost forgets where they are, who they are, <em> what </em> they are, as she focuses on the feel of his fingers as he gives her a quick squeeze and then... </p>
<p>And then his hand is sliding even further up and in, his thumb barely brushing up against the crotch of her jeans and Beth’s eyes snap open.  </p>
<p>She tilts her head to look at Rio, and he’s still scrolling through his fucking phone like he’s not practically groping her and Beth almost reaches over and snatches the phone out of his hand, but then his thumb presses between her legs again, this time much firmer and Beth lets out a shuddering breath as she looks over toward the kitchen.  </p>
<p>She can hear all three voices drifting out from there and she doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing, but she finds herself not particularly caring.  </p>
<p>All her focus is on Rio’s hand and the teasing little strokes his thumb is giving her. Her hips move of their own accord, twitching up, trying to find more friction, but Rio immediately stops his ministrations, giving her thigh a rough squeeze until she stills.  </p>
<p>And then he starts back up again.  </p>
<p>Beth bites at her lip, her hand coming down to grab at the edge of the couch cushion.  </p>
<p>She resists the urge to move as her fingers dig into the soft fabric of the cushion, but it is <em> torture. </em>  </p>
<p>Beth’s vaguely aware that the voices from the kitchen are getting louder, closer, and groans silently as she shifts, trying to move away from Rio’s touch, expecting him to stop.  </p>
<p><em> Except he doesn’t. </em> </p>
<p>He pulls her back, holding her in place and Beth turns to glare at him, but his focus is still on his phone—only this time he has that damn smirk on his face.  </p>
<p>Beth opens her mouth to snap at him, but his hand quickly slips between her legs, cupping her through her jeans and applying just enough pressure that Beth sucks in a sharp breath and exhales a soft moan as Rio finally looks at her.  </p>
<p>And <em> god</em>, she clenches around nothing at just how blown his pupils are, at how he looks like he wants to fucking tear her apart.  </p>
<p>Annie comes bouncing back into the room first, her arms precariously balancing snacks and her drink, and she’s followed closely by Ruby and then Mick.  </p>
<p>Beth freezes, her hand still clutching the couch cushion, and she can hear the beating of her own heart, loud as a fucking siren in her ears.  </p>
<p>But the other three are moving back to their respective seats, volleying quips back and forth, unaware of what’s going on, and Beth forces herself to relax, even as Rio’s hand remains where it is.  </p>
<p><em> Asshole</em>. </p>
<p>Beth clears her throat and Annie glances over at her and tilts her head to the side as she pops a chip into her mouth, eyes steady on her face.  </p>
<p>Beth resists the urge to squirm under her scrutiny, knows the movement will only create more pressure from Rio’s hand.  </p>
<p>“What’s wrong with you?” Annie asks, mouth still full of chip and Beth’s face twists up in disgust.  </p>
<p>“Chew and swallow, Annie.” She scolds, momentarily side tracked by having to mother her sister yet again.  </p>
<p>And that’s when Rio decides to push down slightly with the heel of his hand and push up with his fingers and Beth just barely contains any outward reactions, sucking her bottom lip hard into her mouth to keep another moan from spilling out.    </p>
<p>“Seriously, you’re acting all like, weird. Like, twitchy.” Annie tries again, shoving some more chips in her mouth and then Ruby and Mick are looking her way curiously too. She hears Rio let out a quiet chuckle beside her and she seriously considers stabbing him with something.  </p>
<p>“You know what, I need to go to the bathroom. You guys start without me.” Rio’s hand slides smoothly out from between her legs and back over to him and she practically scrambles off the couch, throwing the pillow at Rio as she goes, before stumbling slightly down the hall and into her bedroom.  </p>
<p>She closes the door behind her and leans back against it, her breaths coming in short gasps, her skin feeling prickly and hot all over, the <em> ache </em> between her legs almost unbearable.  </p>
<p>“<em>Fuck</em>.” She says into the empty room, finding her bearings before she pushes herself off the door. Beth paces back and forth, trying to psyche herself up to go back out to the living room, hoping by some miracle once she gets out there Rio and Mick will be gone.  </p>
<p>That hope quickly dissipates as her bedroom door is pushed open just enough for Rio to slip through and then shut quietly behind him. He has her—<em>their— </em>bottle of bourbon in hand. </p>
<p><em> Fuck</em>. </p>
<p>And she thinks she says it silently in her head, but the way Rio’s smirking at her as he advances, stalking toward her, she thinks maybe she actually let it slip out loud. He’s quickly crowding her up against her dresser, setting the bottle down on top of it, and she feels like she can’t breathe, he’s standing so close, every sharp edge of his pressed against every soft curve of hers.  </p>
<p>He stares down at her, silently waiting for her to decide which way this is going to go.  </p>
<p>And she almost pushes him away.  </p>
<p>Almost says no.  </p>
<p>Almost tells him not tonight.  </p>
<p>But her body is taking control and her mind is yielding, and she pushes herself against him slightly, maneuvering around him so she can hop up onto the dresser, unscrewing the top of the bourbon and tossing the cap to the side. She takes a large swig straight from the bottle before pulling him in-between her legs as she whispers in his ear— </p>
<p>“We have to be quick. And very quiet.”  </p>
<p>“Oh, mama, that ain’t a problem for <em> me</em>.” He purrs, burying his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply and Beth makes a small noise of outrage as she pushes him back slightly.  </p>
<p>“What does <em> that </em>mean?”   </p>
<p>“Nothin.’” He says, diving back into her neck and Beth lets herself get distracted, but only momentarily.  </p>
<p>“I can be quiet.” She argues, even as she lets out a soft gasp when he bites down on her shoulder.  </p>
<p>“Sure, you can.” He teases, right before he latches onto her neck, sucking a small bruise into the soft skin. “You seemed to be strugglin’ a lil bit out in the living room.” He adds as he pulls back to admire his handiwork.  </p>
<p>“<em>About that</em>—” Beth starts, remembering how annoyed she still is with him, but Rio slides his hand around the back of her neck and pulls her forward, cutting her off with a kiss.  </p>
<p>And—okay, so they can discuss that later, when they have more time, she thinks, letting herself get lost in his lips.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks again to medievalraven, who always has such nice things to say to me when I'm screaming incoherent nonsense about my writing.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>